PASTORS’ PEN

In Luke’s Gospel we read the commissioning of the disciples after the resurrection, (Luke 24:47-49):

“Repentance and forgiveness will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem…You are

witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father promised; but stay in the city until you

have been clothed with power from on high.”

How difficult the task must have seemed for the disciples…going into the

whole world (starting at Jerusalem), knowing that most if not seemly the

whole world was against them, and called by God’s Will to teach, preach,

and by the transforming power of God…make disciple of Jesus Christ of

the “whole world.” I am also struck by the fact that God gave them no

plans laid out in front of them, no answers to how much it would cost them

to care for and meet their daily needs, or even who would be chairman of

the board of this organized or seemingly unorganized band of followers.

He simply gave them one directive and one promise…it would be fulfilled

10 days from now (10 days after His Ascension and 50 days after His

Resurrection). “The clothing with power from on high,” the filling of the

Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity…God Himself filling them so

that it would be God living in them that would be doing the “Impossible

and the Miraculous.”

A Heavenly Vision and Purpose is always greater than the power and resources of you and I. If that were not so,

I doubt that it would be of God for there would be little of it that would be Heavenly. However, those who seek

to follow God’s Will and God’s Plans can be well assured that God will always provide His Heavenly Power to

be at work in us to accomplish His divine purposes. I was watching a program on television the other day show-

ing men using nitroglycerin to explode out the side of a mountain to build railroad tracks through the Rocky

Mountains with such awesome power. I have personally experienced the power of nitroglycerin opening my

blood vessels and allowing life-giving blood to flow freely into my heart. Nitroglycerin can both be explosive

and life-giving…so is the power of God’s Holy Spirit when we allow Him to enter our lives, our plans, our

visions, our efforts, our faithfulness, our decisions, our witness for what God wants to accomplish and can do in

us and through us if we but allow Him!

The tasks that God still gives to us today always seem to be unbelievably impossible and the future can some-

times appear undependable or at least questionable, but be well assured that if God gives the vision and God is

doing the directing…HE IS ABLE TO CARRY IT OUT IN US…THROUGH HIS POWER…NOT OURS! God

has great plans to prosper and to bless us…God will never call us to be mediocre…but to be Great for Him!

God Bless Us All…as Faithfully we serve Him and through His Holy Spirit, fulfill His Visions and His Plans for

our Days!

-Pastor Ed

April 2013

The Gathering

COMING EVENTS

PIZZA WITH THE

PASTORS We will be having two “Pizza with

the Pastors” luncheons in April.

The first one will be on Sunday,

April 14, at 12:00 p.m. noon, at the

Life Center. The second one will

be on Sunday, April 21, at 11:30

a.m. at the Downtown campus.

The purpose of these luncheons is

for visitors and new attenders to

get better acquainted with the pas-

tors and staff. Everyone is wel-

come.

RUMMAGE SALE Our spring Rummage Sale will

soon be here so it is time to clean

out your closets, basement, and

garage. The dates are April 12,

from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and

April 13, from 8:00 a.m.-1:00

p.m. You may bring your items

to the south end of the gym on

April 8, 9, and 10. We need lots

of help, especially on Thursday,

April 11, to set up, and on Satur-

day, April 13, to tear down. Con-

tact Patty Krebs, 612-2048, if you

can help.

PRIMETIMERS On Thursday, April 11, the

Primetimers will visit the beautiful

and historic St. James Chapel and

the John B. Howe Home at Howe

Military Academy, in Howe, Indi-

ana. Lunch will be at Tiffany’s in

Topeka.

The bus will pick up at Green-

croft at 8:45 a.m., and we will

leave the church at 9:15 a.m. If

you have questions, please call

Bob Morris at 534-2791.

MOVIE We will be having a free movie

on Sunday, April 21, at 4:00 p.m.

at the Life Center. The movie

will be “Finding Nemo.” There

will be free popcorn, and every-

one is welcome!

MARRIAGE

RETREAT We will be having a Marriage Re-

treat on April 26-27 at the Life

Center. It will begin on Friday

evening at 6:30 p.m. and continue

until 9:00 p.m. On Saturday, it

will be from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Child care will be provided, as

well as the noon meal and snacks.

If you are interested in participat-

ing in this retreat, please call the

church office, 533-9518, and re-

serve your place. All couples are

welcome!

PRAYER Everyone is encouraged to sign up

for one of the two prayer lines the

church has in place. In this way we

may pray for persons in the many

ways that are needed. For the

E-mail prayer line, contact Janet

Taylor at: taylor-janet@juno.com,

or if the telephone line suits you

better, contact

Fannie Mabie

at 533-4965.

May we con-

tinue to live

in a spirit of

thankfulness

as we give

ourselves and

our life situa-

tions to God.

YOUTH EVENTS

YOUTH MISSION TRIP The youth group will be going to Henderson Settlement in Ken-

tucky over spring break, from April 1-6, 2013. Please pray for

the youth who are going: Brodie Bender, Anna Benton, Julia

Giddens, Tyler Groves, Jacob Haimes, Cooper Middaugh,

Wesley Middaugh, Harry Musser, Addison Nicodemus, Sarah

Nowak, Manda Peffley, Nick Ragsdale, Ryan Spencer, Brandon

Stoll, Jamie Stoll, Jacob Stover, Cassidy Trammell, Anjelica

Wampler, Cecile Wampler, Langston Wenger, Hannah Weirich,

Garrette Wilde, Trina Witte.

SENIOR HIGH & JUNIOR HIGH CHURCH CAMP

We will be attending senior high camp on June 23-28. More details will follow soon but please be thinking if you

would like to join us. Anyone going into high school through graduating seniors are welcome. I will be attending

this week and we will be sharing housing with Faith

UMC.

Junior High camp will be July 21-26. It is the same as

fair week, but it is a week that has great leadership

and some of our youth are already registered for that

week. If you are not able to attend that week, please

feel free to register for a week that better fits your

schedule.

The church has graciously offered to cover $200 of

the cost of any youth that wants to attend camp.

Please let me know soon if this is something you’d

like to do so I can start preparing financially.

-Brad Miller, Youth Pastor

EVANGELISM AT TARGET A couple of weeks ago a number of our youth went to Target in an effort to bless people

and evangelize. It was a neat experience. All of the youth wrote letters of encourage-

ment and hid them somewhere in the store so people shopping would come across them

and receive the kind words. While they were there they were also told to

engage people by saying hello, offering help where they could, and rounding up all the

carts in the parking lot. The best part though was that many of them had the courage to

start conversations with strangers about God. They were able to talk about faith, church,

and salvation. It was really cool to see them open up and have fun while doing it.

-Brad Miller, Youth Pastor

SPOTLIGHT: YOUTH OF THE MONTH

The March youth of the month is Brodie Bender. Brodie has meant so much to the

youth group. He has been at the center of everything over the past year. He gives

people rides, works hard at service projects, reaches out to people in the church, and

has helped mentor some of the younger youth. One of the most amazing things to

know about Brodie is that he has not missed a single Wednesday night group since I

took over as youth pastor last April. That includes the time that he was bitten by a

dog and got rather sick because of it. A few weeks ago we got to enjoy Brodie shar-

ing his testimony at youth group. Thank you Brodie for all you do. You will defi-

nitely be missed after you graduate!

-Brad Miller, Youth Pastor

THANK YOU!!

I thank God for selfless people in our church that give up at least one night a week to come and spend time with

our youth kids. I have been blessed with an all-star group of helpers....each week Tony Brinson, Matt

Smith, Bobbi Smith, Loraine Troyer, Ann Bender, Julie Weddle, Julie Springer, Marc Dixon and PK Carvajal

give of their time and talents and cannot be thanked enough! You guys rock!

What is even more exciting now is that God is providing many avenues for our group to grow both in number and

substance, but to do that we need more helpers. What do you know? God has answered that prayer as well. I want

to give a big shout out to the following people who have decided to make a commitment to help the group and be

a part of the excitement that is going to come: Amy Smith, Garry Anglemyer, Don Riegsecker, Andrew Hughes,

and Stephanie Hughes. I am so excited to see what each of you can bring to the group. God has placed you here

for a reason! It is amazing to see what will happen when we just let God take control of where we go.

Oh and one more thing...I can't forget to thank Brent Lehman, Scott Nickerson, Cammi Waggoner, Mark

Waggoner, and Carol Hess for teaching Sunday school for us! And all the adults on the Y'AL team that help with

fundraisers and event planning! This ministry would not be possible without you! -Brad Miller, Youth Pastor

THE LIVING WORD The 2013 Production of the Living Word was a great success due to the tireless and excellent efforts of many

people. I would like to personally thank Tom Smith who always goes above and beyond in doing so many things

for the production, not the least of which is all the organization of the setup and tear down. Thank you, Tom.

Also, I want to say thanks again this year to Cindy Howard who helped in many ways. Most important is the

new design and build of the set. It looks great. Thanks so much for the many, many days and nights you put in

making it look just right. Special thanks to Elaine McCann who served as our drama director this year. Her ca-

pable talents and direction made the production a great success. Of course, she spent many hours working on the

set and giving it just the right touches as well. We are truly blessed to have such committed and talented people.

Of course there are so many others to thank including our musicians, cast, crew and sponsors, all of which put in

countless hours to make this production happen. But I also want to say thank you to spouses and families who

gave up their family members for this extended period to allow them to be involved. It is such a privilege to

work with all of you in this tremendous effort. It is our prayer that our efforts, with God's direction, will make

this event meaningful in the lives of many persons for years to come.

To God be all the Glory!!! -Steve Campagna, Minister of Music

GOSHEN FUMC -

CALENDAR YEAR

HIGHLIGHTS 2013

APRIL

April 1-6 Youth Mission Trip to Henderson

Settlement in Kentucky

April 3 No TGIW – spring break

April 11 Primetimers trip.

April 12-13 Rummage Sale at Downtown campus

April 14 12:00 noon “Pizza with the Pastors” at

Life Center

April 14-21 Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network

week – our church helps

April 21 11:30 am “Pizza with the Pastors” at

Downtown campus

4:00 pm Movie at the Life Center

April 24 Last TGIW meal and classes until fall

April 25 7:00 pm Missions Committee

April 26-27 Marriage Retreat at the Life Center

MAY

May 7 7:00 pm GHS Jazz Band at the

Life Center

May 11 5:00 pm Wedding in Downtown

Sanctuary

May 14 Primetimers trip

May 19 12:00 noon Receptionists/Volunteer

appreciation meal at the Life Center

May 19 4:00 pm Movie at Life Center

May 27 Memorial Day – Church Office closed

May 29 Carry-in meal for the choir at

Downtown campus

May 29 Last youth group until school starts

JUNE

June 2 High school/college graduation recogni

tion during morning worship services

June 9 4:00 pm Movie at Life Center

June 11 Primetimers trip

June 22 4:00 pm Wedding in Downtown

Sanctuary

JULY

July 4 Holiday – Church Office closed

July 7 Evening – Big Bash at the Life Center

July 7-13 Youth Mission trip to Myrtle Beach,

South Carolina

July 21 4:00 pm Movie at Life Center

July 21-28 Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network

week – our church helps

July 28-31 6:00-8:00 pm – Vacation Bible School at

the Life Center

AUGUST

August 2 Wedding at Downtown Sanctuary

August 17 1:00 pm Wedding at Downtown Sanctuary

August 18 4:00 pm Hog Roast and Movie at Life Center

August 20 Leadership Training by Pastor Ed

August 22 Primetimers trip

August 24 Leadership training by Pastor Ed

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 2 Holiday – Church Office closed

Sept. 11 TGIW meal and classes begin for the fall

Sept. 15 4:00 pm Movie at Life Center

Sept. 19 Primetimers trip

Sept. 21 Wedding in Downtown Sanctuary

Sept. 29-Oct. 6 Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network

week - our church helps

OCTOBER

Oct. 5 Wedding in Downtown Sanctuary

Oct. 4-5 Rummage Sale at Downtown campus

Oct. 6 World Wide Communion Day

Oct. 11-12 Women’s Retreat at Farmstead Inn in

Shipshewana

Oct. 20 4:00 pm Movie at the Life Center

Oct. 23 No TGIW – fall break

NOVEMBER

Nov. 3 All Saints Day

Nov. 17 4:00 pm Movie at the Life Center

Nov. 27 No TGIW

Nov. 28 Thanksgiving – Church Office closed

DECEMBER

Dec. 8 9:00 am Christmas Cantata at Downtown

campus

Dec. 15 4:00 pm Movie at the Life Center

Dec. 18 Last TGIW until January

Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Services at Downtown

campus and Life Center

Dec. 24-26 Holiday – Church office closed.

Dec. 31 Holiday – Church office closed.

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No.136

Goshen, IN

First United Methodist Church

214 S. Fifth Street

Goshen, IN 46528

Phone: 533-9518

www.goshenfirstumc.org

www.goshenlifecenter.org

Address Service Requested

“During a time like this we realize how much our friends and relatives really mean to us….Your expression of

sympathy will always be remembered.” -Ruth Miller and the family of Cheryl Rider

“Thanks to all that came to the spaghetti dinner to help us celebrate the upcoming birth of our baby! We really

appreciate all your gifts—now we feel that we are ready to have a baby! He is due April 12. Please keep us in

your prayers as the special day arrives.” -Mateo & Rachel Tenorio

“Thank you for the birthday card and lovely pink carnation. It brought much joy to me.” -Peg Herring

We would like to thank everyone that came out to support the group at our latest fundraiser meal. We had fun

preparing and serving the food and it was great to hear the feedback we got on how good the food was and how

much people enjoyed themselves. We raised $720 that we will use at one of our two mission trips this spring and

summer. -Brad Miller, Youth Pastor

HAPPY APRIL BIRTHDAYS! April 1

Marcia Parsons

Pat Robbins

April 2

Nancy Lantz

Shelley Tucker

Jeremy Stutsman

Hayden Bailey

April 3

Dale Showalter

Sara Showalter

April 4

Eric Brown

P.K. Carvajal

April 6

Laura Miller

David Hodges

Nell Hoogenboom

Aspen Anglemyer

April 7

Sharon Anglemyer

April 8

John Cornel

April 9

Tony Krebs

Jeanette Salisbury

Tom Snobarger

April 10

Michael Cork

Rebecka Franklin

April 11

Patricia McKinney

April 12

Al Lane

Kris Kinel

April 14

Thomas Perrin

Beatrice Briggs

Gage Wiles

April 15

Barb Allyn

Kenda Shorthouse

Marilyn Wallace

Brock Blankenbaker

Zoey Williams

April 16

Marjorie Zollinger

Joni Miller

April 17

Melissa Fowler

Kim Sheets

April 18

Tim Yoder

Michael Deranek

Morgan Fetters

April 20

Will Herschberger

Randy Fackelman

Cassidy Trammell

April 21

Diane Bachman

Brendon Crawford

Alicia Spencer

April 22

Brodie Bender

April 23

Ruth Fry

April 24

Darlene Dechant

Rick Crowder

Lauren Altenhof

April 26

Rosalie Rock

Jim Yoder

Justin Gran

Gavin Gran

April 27

Gordon Moore

Drew Elliott

Meghan Rheinheimer

Steve Campagna

April 28

Lexus Tucker

April 29

Kim Stark

David Hart, Sr.

April 30

Andrew Ketcham

Sheila Booker

Bonnie Nicolai

THINK ABOUT IT “I may not be there yet, but I’m

closer than I was yesterday.”

-Author Unknown

“Don’t let the fear of the time it

will take to accomplish something

stand in the way of your doing it.

The time will pass anyway; we

might just as well put that passing

time to the best possible use.”

-Earl Nightingale